Our Potty Training Adventure + Tips for Kids with Special Needs

Affiliate and Referral links are used below to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission on any purchases made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.

Potty training or learning is always a hot button topic in parenting circles. Everyone has their ideas on how it should be done, when it should be done etc. As soon as my daughter hit 2 years old, the questions started coming “When are you going to potty train?” from family and others. Today I thought I would share our potty training adventure and also why waiting until your child is ready is the best.

Plus I included some tips for potty training children with special needs at the end of this post.

First, a little history on my daughter so you understand why we decided to wait until she was basically 33 months old to start full “potty training.”

My daughter has always been a child who will only do something once SHE is ready to do it. It was that way with sleeping through the night, weening from nursing, crawling, walking, basically everything!

She was never technically “late” doing any of these things, but she was typically a little bit later doing them then others her age around us. For instance, she weened at 18 months and also at the same time suddenly started sleeping through the night. Before that time she would wake up 2-3 times a night to nurse. Then magically one day she was done and that was that!

With crawling and walking, she definitely had her own idea on when she would do it. She always did pretty well with tummy time growing up, so I just sat back and let her figure things out on her own for the most part. She started crawling at 10 months and then walking at 13 months. She literally went from one day not doing any of these to doing them almost exclusively.

So when it came to potty training, I figured we were in for more of the same; she was not going to do it until she figured out she was ready to.

A little bit after her second birthday I made it a point to take her in the bathroom with me so she could get use to the idea. Thankfully she was never afraid of the toilet flushing and actually picked up on the whole bathroom “routine” pretty quickly. But she never cared that she was wet or dirty in diapers.

After a couple months I decided to try sitting her on the toilet. She would sit and do the entire routine, but just would not actually go. We tried for 2-3 days with no success in any way. It was also at that point that I found out I was pregnant with no. 2. So potty training got put on hold since I was very sick for the first 4 months or so.

To be honest, at this point I was truly afraid of potty training. It seemed like an unattainable goal and I really had no desire to even try doing it. Of course the questions of whether or not she was potty trained yet didn't help much.

I kept reminding myself, she was not going to go to college NOT potty trained. It would happen eventually and knowing her history, when SHE was ready.

This also kept in line with Montessori principles that I was learning about. Montessori is a huge advocate of sensitive periods and allowing the child to do things when they are developmentally ready to do it. This means each child is going to be different. Yes, there are age ranges that things typically happen in, but it's not a one size fits all concept.

So a couple weeks ago I was 30 weeks pregnant and actually feeling like I had the energy to see if she was ready to give this a try. She was about 33 months old and we had just a few weeks before baby brother would be joining us. We followed some of the tips in the Potty Training in a Weekend ebook and actually started on a Wednesday.

I did get some pull-ups to have on hand in case we needed to go somewhere and I really didn't feel like cleaning up accidents in the car. Thankfully this time, SHE was ready. By Thursday afternoon and Friday we were basically accident free and she was even initiating when she needed to go herself.

So why am I sharing our potty training or learning experience? Because I just want you to know, it truly WILL happen, but real success will come when YOUR CHILD is ready. It may be early and it may be later. But the important thing is to realize when THEY are ready to learn and capitalize on that time.

Are you attempting potty training or learning with a child with special needs? Here are some resources for you as well:

Reader Interactions

CONTENT DISCLAIMER: Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.All information on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult with a medical professional if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child. The information on the Websites does not replace the relationship between therapist and client in a one-on-one treatment session with an individualized treatment plan based on their professional evaluation. The information provided on the Website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied.Do not rely on the information on the Website as an alternative to advice from your medical professional or healthcare provider. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment as a result of any information provided on the Website. All medical information on the Website is for informational purposes only.All activities outlined on the Website are designed for completion with adult supervision. Please use your own judgment with your child and do not provide objects that could pose a choking hazard to young children. Never leave a child unattended during these activities. Please be aware of and follow all age recommendations on all products used in these activities. Growing Hands-On Kids is not liable for any injury when replicating any of the activities found on this blog.YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
The Website was developed strictly for informational purposes. You understand and agree that you are fully responsible for your use of the information provided on the Website. Growing Hands-On Kids makes no representations, warranties or guarantees. You understand that results may vary from person to person. Growing Hands-On Kids assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions that may appear in the Website.

Comments

It really is best to wait until the child is ready. So many parents want to try potty training as soon as the child is 2 or even earlier. I love what you said about how she wouldn’t go to college in diapers — my BFF’s mom says something like that all the time about kids. Some kids learn to sleep through the night at an early age; some kids learn to read at an early age…but really, they all need to go at their own pace.

Congrats on potty training success! (And even if she slips a bit when little brother comes, hang in there, momma!)

My son was 5 years old before he was properly potty trained. He is autistic. I had tried him using the loo when he was 11 months old. He clearly wasn’t ready, because the process upset him to the point of tears, so I left it a few months and tried again. Again he was not ready yet, but at two he was comfortable at least sitting on the loo, not doing anything. I kept leaving it a few months before trying again and then at five he was mostly potty trained with little accidents when he got so involved with playing that he didn’t want to break off going to the loo. One day I had a stern word with him about going when he need to and from then on we didn’t have any more accidents. There were times when I despaired that he was ever going to be continent, but eventually we got there. Just be patient.

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

Get This Free Fine Motor Checklist!

Welcome to Growing Hands-On Kids! My name is Heather and I’m a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with experience in school-based Occupational Therapy. I use my background to share child development tips, tools, and strategies through hands-on activities. You can read more about me by clicking here.

Get This FREE 8 Sensory Systems Handout

Sign-up to receive my 9-day sensory processing email series and get this 8 sensory systems handout in English & Spanish!

Footer

Growing Hands-On Kids, LLC 2020. All content, photos/graphics, video, printables and ebooks written or created by Heather Greutman of https://growinghandsonkids.com are copyright of the owner. You may not alter or reuse text/content, photos/graphics, or videos in any way (print or digital use) without express written consent from Heather Greutman. For more details, please read our website terms of use and policy page.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more